Bill O'Reilly Hits Back at Pelosi, Geraldo Over Obama Grilling

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has hit back at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and TV commentator Geraldo Rivera who attacked him last week for insulting President Barack Obama during his Super Bowl interview.

Pelosi said that O’Reilly had been "disrespectful" to Obama while grilling him about the IRS, Benghazi and Obamacare. And the California Democrat singled out O’Reilly’s remark about people who "hate" Obama, calling it "completely inappropriate" for the U.S. president to be asked such a question.

O’Reilly defended his interview, while saying that he found it "troubling" that he was the first person to ask key questions about the country and the presidency.

"That is what an interview is supposed to be," he said. "Many in the media are protecting President Obama."

O’Reilly also took Pelosi to task for "reneging" on her promise to appear on his show. He said that she had agreed to appear on O’Reilly’s show last year during an informal meeting at the White House.

Although she admitted that she was angered at the way O’Reilly had questioned the president, Pelosi said she has not ruled out an appearance on his show, noting that it was an "open-ended" invitation.

O’Reilly also pushed back against Rivera after he had denounced the Obama interview, charging that the Fox News host was confrontational and did not afford Obama "the decorum and respect and deference that you pay the office."

"The truth is there’s enormous pressure from supporters of the president not to put him on the spot," O’Reilly said Monday night.

"The mentality of some working for the president is that he is not, not, to be challenged. That’s not the mentality here. I respect the office of the presidency. But it’s my job to ask the toughest questions I can think of."According to Mediaite, O’Reilly then talked with fellow host Brit Hume and blasted the national press corps for being too "docile" when it came to questioning Obama.

O’Reilly also announced on his show that he is auctioning off his notes on his Super Bowl interview with Obama, with an opening bid of $10,000.

The proceeds from the one-page note, which is signed by both Obama and O’Reilly, will go to a charity that the TV host is sponsoring.